Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Warning: There will be some domestic violence in this one, nothing major but I just wanted to give a heads up. It ends after the second page.

I stood there, eye to eye to a very pissed-off Rio. I was definitely acting recklessly, which in our line of work was not a good mix. But I just killed my brother for this work, for Rio. I felt like maybe I had a tiny bit of justification in my behavior.

"You have no idea what this feels like," I growled. Rio shook his head and scoffed, not breaking eye contact with me.

"Oh, I don't? You don't think I've had to pull the trigger on people I cared about? On family?" He said sternly. I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Rio didn't tell me much about his family, just that his father and his sister were dead. His mother wanted nothing to do with him. I suddenly started to wonder how his sister and father died. "It's the life, darlin'. If you fall apart like this every time you have to do what we do, you won't make it. You're a boss now, time to start actin' like one. So suck it up." Rio said as he tensed his jaw, as he always tended to do.

"Suck it up?" I hissed.

"That's what I said."

I scoffed. He really could be so cold. So heartless. Even though I had known this for as long as I had known him, it was poking me in ways that made me want to hit him. But that's what he wanted. I knew he wanted to see if I would explode. Rio was always trying to turn me harder. Colder. Well, it was working. I slapped him. Hard. He chuckled lightly as he held his jaw. He nodded and started to walk away. He was pissed.

"Oh no, babe, don't leave me hanging like that! Come on. This is what we do, right? We're criminals. We're heartless animals, right? Hit me back!" I screamed in his face. He looked down into my eyes, he was a good foot taller than me, but I wasn't scared of him. Well, maybe I was. I was looking for anything to give me a feeling. Anything other than sadness. I slapped him again, looking for a reaction, and I got one. He growled and shoved me up against the brick wall behind me. I groaned as my back collided with it, and Rio wrapped his hand around my neck. He wasn't full-on choking me, but I could tell he was trying to hold back. I was close to dancing with the scary, violent, and full-on mean side of Rio. But I didn't care. I knew I blamed him slightly. I also knew that it made no sense, but I couldn't help it. But then it hit me. It was my fault. I did this. The anger I had risen, and I screamed as I reached around his arm to punch him in the jaw. He grabbed a handful of my hair and drugged me across the room to throw me on the couch. He got on top of me and pinned my arms above my head as I writhed around.

"Stop hittin' me, bitch!" He said as I saw the blood spilling from his split lip. I groaned and stopped fighting him. "You done?" He asked. I nodded as I looked from his eyes to his lips. I ground my hips against him, and his face changed. He knew what I needed now. I was so desperate to grab onto any feeling besides what I had felt since I killed Jason. It was so sporadic. It felt like I was literally clawing at my own mind. Then it was spilling out of me, a question I knew he wasn't expecting.

"Fuck me," I ordered. Rio eyed me for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on in my head. Then it seemed like he got it suddenly. It was like he finally got what I needed and why. No one in my life, ever, had been able to figure me out. Not like him. He knew me in ways I didn't know anyone could. He understood me like no one else ever had.

He lowered his lips towards me, and I met him halfway. I crashed my lips to him, and I could taste his blood on my tongue. He groaned into my mouth and started to undo his belt buckle. I kicked my boots off and started to peel my leggings off. I shrugged out of one leg, and before I knew it, he was pounding into me. With every thrust, my anger started to simmer. I couldn't explain it, but it the best way I could describe it. He was fucking the turmoil out of me. It was only a few minutes before both of us were going over the edge. It had been a while, at least for us. I whimpered into his neck as he spilled into me. When he was finished, he rested his forehead on mine.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to hold back tears.

"Hey, you don't apologize. Ever. To me, to anyone. Understand?" He asked, our foreheads still touching. I nodded slightly, and he kissed me. Jesus, this man. This beautiful, complicated, and unbelievably dangerous man...he really was my ride or die.

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I had taken the next few days to do some....damage control. I didn't want to appear weak, but I wanted to fix some things. I called up Annie and invited her to lunch. She showed up but was pretty quiet.

"Hey um, I know I was a little out of control last Friday. I'm just...going through some shit." I explained. She nodded.

"I get it. It's okay. I didn't want you to get hurt." She said as he took a sip of her drink. We talked about business tactics, how she and Eddie were thinking about him moving into her apartment. "Ben loves him, but I have this habit of not being in lasting relationships. Plus, with what he does, it may not be safe. Or I don't know." Annie said, clearly conflicted.

"I get it. He loves you. I know he does. He loves Ben too. He's always bragging about how smart Ben is at our meetings. But, at the end of the day, you gotta do what you gotta do. I know he would never let anything happen to you guys. Plus, you guys live in the nicer part of Detroit. Our kind doesn't frequent over there often." I said, joking. She smiled slightly. "How are Beth and Ruby?" I asked. I hadn't been checking on them during prints lately, and Mick and Dante had been picking up and dropping off with them.

"Ruby is doing okay. Stan is still working at the strip club, but they are making it work. Her kid Sarah just got some big-time award for being a smartie. Beth is, um, she is okay. Dean moved into his own place. They are splitting the kids up like assets." She joked. "I am trying to get her on a dating app. She needs a little strange." She said as she took a bite out of a chicken wing. I nodded.

"I mean, I would fix her up, but I know nothing but gangbangers." I said, laughing slightly. Annie smiled. "She will find someone," I added. As long as she didn't come for seconds with my husband, I was all for Beth Boland finding some happiness. Even after she almost killed Rio.

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I woke up the following morning feeling so tired. Rio had already left for the day, and I got dressed. Today was the meeting with Don to discuss his work ethic. I knew I would need to be stern with him, so I had cleaned my knife the night before. I was at the coffee maker waiting for the brew to be finished when I suddenly got a wave of nausea. I ran to the downstairs bathroom toilet and fell to my knees. I almost didn't make it before I threw up nothing but stomach acid. I groaned and flushed the toilet, sitting back against the bathroom wall. What the hell? My stomach was doing serious somersaults.

I heard a knock at the front door, and it was Eddie. He nodded his head at me, his hands in his pockets.

"Yo, you ready to get our shit done?" He asked. "Damn, dude, you look sick." He said as I nodded.

"Uh yeah, I must have the stomach flu or something," I said as I grabbed my gun and shoved it in my jeans. Eddie started to lead the way to his car as I started to lock the front door.

"Damn, I hope you ain't pregnant," Eddie said as he headed to his car. I stopped jiggling my keys, and I froze. I pulled my phone out and looked at my calendar. I was almost a month late. I was never late. Ever. I got into the car and tried to keep my cool. A couple of Rio's boys were in the backseat of the SUV, and Eddie was driving. "Yo, Andy. You good?" I heard Eddie say.

"Um, yeah. I'm...good. Let's do this." I said. "I'm gonna let you take point on this one, yeah?" I said as Eddie nodded. We pulled up to the warehouse, and we saw Don's boys out front. We headed inside while our guys stayed out front with Don's crew.

I saw Don sitting in the small office to the first floor's left with his right hand standing next to his chair. Don stood to his full giant height and smiled a smile that made me cringe. I walked with Eddie to the small room and stood in the door frame.

"Don," I said, giving a fake smile.

"Ms. Andy. Or should I say Mrs. So good to see you beautiful." He said, raking his eyes up and down my body. I rolled my eyes.

"So listen, the reason we called you down here. We need to talk about your working relationship with Tia down in Chicago. I understand you have been giving her a hard time." I suddenly regretted my choice of words. Don and his guy laughed.

"Man, I tell ya. I've been tryin', but she is a stubborn broad." Don laughed.

"Okay, first off, she isn't a broad..."I started to growl. I told Eddie to take this one, but now I was pissed. I nodded at Eddie, and within seconds, he and one of Rio's guys had Don and his right hand at gunpoint. I took out my knife and held to it Don's giant throat. His fake rub-on tan tainted my blade. Ew. "Second, I need you to understand something. You will NEVER make Tia feel uncomfortable again. You will NEVER hit that. She wouldn't stoop that low. If I find out you so much as make a disgusting 20th-century remark at her again, you're out. And I don't just mean the business. Got it?" I asked as I dug the blade into Don's jugular. He nodded as he breathed out a harsh exhale. "Good. We will see you guys next drop, yeah?" I said, smiling and perky. I nodded at Eddie and the boys as we headed towards the exit. Eddie and the guys had their guns on them so they couldn't retaliate as we walked out.

"You are one crazy bitch. You two are meant for each other!" Don yelled. I laughed.

"Ain't that the truth," I said as I opened the door and shoved on my sunglasses. We headed out, and I told Eddie to check on Beth and the girls since they were printing tonight.

"Where are you goin'?" He asked as I got into my car that was parked in front of my apartment.

"I'm uh, gonna run some errands. I'll meet you at Beth's. " I said absently. I got in my car and headed to the nearest drug store.

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I stood in front of the feminine products in aisle six and stared. I wanted to puke, and I wasn't sure if it was because of why I was standing there or the horrible elevator music playing in the background. I religiously took my pill every day, so honestly, if I were...you know...it would mean I was one of those three percent of women who are just unlucky.

I grabbed three different kinds and quickly proceeded to the check-out lane. The young man behind the counter didn't even pay attention to what I was purchasing, and I was silently grateful. After I had paid, I slightly jogged to my car and headed back to the apartment. My heart sank when I saw Rio's car parked in front. Shit.

*Thank you so much for reading! I Will be posting the next chapter tomorrow. Please vote, and if you have time, please follow! I have other works being planned that I think you guys will love! Xo